Say Hello to our Little Friend!

These days, we see letter boards used to announce anything from new babies to new milestones and, in Erin and Casey's case, to announce an adorable new puppy. They had a little fun using a series of photos to lead some of their friends and family into thinking for a split-second that it might be a pregnancy announcement. We were smitten by this little puppy and her announcement, so we chatted with Erin about how it all came together.

To start off, tell us the story behind this photo.

My husband Casey and I have been married for going on two years now. We live in a suburb of Kansas City called Overland Park, and we had just finished updating our first house when he started bringing up the idea of getting a pup since we now had a fairly large fenced-in backyard. I was hesitant, as I was raised a "fish and cats" kind of girl, but he did his research and we landed on a Corgi as our ideal breed of dog. He found a group for corgi breeders on Facebook and saw these cuties come up for sale. Her name is Heidi, she is now 12 weeks old, and she is an Aussie/Corgi mix, a true sweetheart!

Tell us about how you came up with the idea for the photo announcement.

I originally came up with the idea as we were wrapping things up on the house. Being semi-newlyweds and buying a house will really make people start eyeing your belly and saying, "So....?" with raised eyebrows. (; I'm just not there yet, so when Casey first started bringing up a puppy, it was a big condition of mine that for us to get her, we had to do a faux birth announcement so I could give people an answer next time I was asked about kids, haha.

How did this little puppy become part of your family?

Casey stayed in contact with the breeder, and we were sent videos the whole first few weeks of her life. We were able to pick her up at seven weeks, and I was so nervous and excited my palms were literally sweaty while we were in the car!

What are some of the highlights and lowlights of being the mother to a new puppy?

So far, my personal highlights have been coming home and seeing the entire back half of her little body start wiggling furiously. I've never had a dog at all, so having a pet be so! very! happy! to see me after work is the best. I also LOVE when she comes up to me and just puts a tiny little paw on my arm or rests her little bitty head on my leg and falls asleep. I love how snuggly and sweet she can be. You'll note the use of "can" in that last sentence as I go to the next...she's also so, so, so smart, and sometimes she uses that for mischief rather than good! For instance, one night while we were out for an hour running errands, she learned she could "rock climb" right over her doggy gate that keeps her in the kitchen. An Apple charger was sacrificed to her puppy needle teeth that night, haha. But overall, she really is such a good, friendly little gal, and she just wants so badly to make us happy that even when she doesn't get things quite right, you can never stay mad at those blue eyes for long!

If you only look at the first photo, we can't see little Heidi and don't know if it's a human addition to the family or a new puppy. . . . Did you fake anyone out thinking it was a baby human?

Ha, yes! We got quite a few people, as was my original intention. My mom is not on Instagram or even Facebook really, so I texted her the first photo with "We have some news..." and she left me on "Read" until I sent the second photo! Everyone got a good laugh out of it, and I had a lot of people tell me they were even more excited that it was a puppy instead of a baby (to which I currently say, "Same").

Do you have any advice for those who may be considering adopting a new puppy?

Make sure that if you are entering into this with a partner, you are on the same page with training (crate, clicker, house training, bedtimes, etc.) what the pup is allowed to do and not do, how you'll handle this or that situation. . . . If you have a solid game plan going in, it makes the tricky moments that much smoother! It's just so much trial and error, and you're going to get it wrong a lot of times and it might be frustrating at times. You're not a bad person -- it's okay to put the pup somewhere safe and walk away if you need a second. They will still love you, I promise. It really is worth it in the end when they come up to you at the end of a long day, good or otherwise, and fall asleep next to you. You'll feel so protective and thankful.

Lastly, we always like to ask: what is currently up on your letter board?

It's actually a quote that came out of the last little puppy mishap on the kitchen floor. Casey looked at me, rolled his eyes and said, "You just gotta remember, there's always going to be a next time." It was so simple and thoughtful that the exact quote went right up on the board that same night. I like to think of it as Casey's ever-optimistic outlook on life. Even though things might be irritating right now, you have to give the people (or puppies!) in your life a chance to get to "next time." They can really surprise you. :)

If you or someone you know have a story you would like to be featured, send us an email at hey@letterfolk.com.